Story of Us
by Nerescia
Summary: It's Fred's 5th year at Hogwarts, Hermione's 4th. Something happens and they see each other in a different light. fredmione.
1. Chapter 1

His attraction to her started the summer before his 5th year, her 4th. Everyone was at the Burrow, soaking up the last days of summer before they went back to Hogwarts for yet another year. He and George were at the table going over plans for possible pranks when Ginny spoke up.

"We should play hide and seek." Everyone looked up. Harry and Ron from their wizards chess, Hermione from her book, and he and George from their spot.

"Ginny are you 12?" George asked with a slight roll of his eyes. His twin elbowed him.

"I don't know Georgie, it could be fun." He said with a mischievous glint in his eye. "As long as Ginny goes first of course." Ginny shrugged in agreement, and the game began. Everyone scattered in different directions as she counted down from 100. He knew where he was going to hide. In Charlie's closet where his mum now stored old books.

He took the stairs two at a time and rushed into his older brother's room and opened the door only to find Hermione hidden inside.

"Granger! What are you doing?" He demanded. She glared at him.

"Go find your own spot Fred. I was here first." She hissed in annoyance.

"Ready or not, here I come!" Ginny cried out from a floor below.

"Too late! Scoot over." Fred said as he shoved his way into the small closet and shut the door. The room was almost pitch dark, save the sliver of light coming from under the door that gave just enough light to illuminate their faces. Hermione's was one of annoyance, Fred's one of mischief. The two were extremely close together, only about a couple of inches between them.

"Well isn't this cosy?" He whispered with a smirk. She just rolled her eyes and turned her head toward the door, her hair brushing his neck as she did so. He shivered slightly. Wait…what? He frowned slightly and looked down at her. She came just below his chin. She was so close he could reach out and grab her to him if he wanted…Bloody hell! What was he thinking like this for? This was know-it-all Granger we were talking about here.

He cleared his throat. "A little warm isn't it? This used to be Charlie's room you know. Mum just uses it for storage now." He whispered again, breaking the silence that was only interrupted by their breathing. She turned back toward him.

"I know Fred. I've been over here many times." She replied a little snarky, but her eyes were still rather warm.

"A little touchy aren't we?" He replied, smirking once again.

"Well if someone hadn't taken my spot I doubt I would be." She shot back and he smiled. She had gotten feistier since he had last seen her.

"This is my house after all. Don't you think I should get to choose where I want to hide?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No. Technically as your guest, I should get first pick or are you just a terrible host?" She glared at him. His smile got wider as he leaned in toward her. She instinctively pulled back until she was against the opposite shelf.

"I'm never a good host." He whispered rather seductively in her ear, his breath tickling her neck. He felt her breath hitch slightly. She looked up into his eyes, her annoyance gone, instead replaced by a stunned expression.

The door flew open and Fred looked at her one last time before leaning back with a slight smirk, but his eyes clouded with confusion. He looked over at his sister who was flanked by Harry and George. "Darn, you found us. Guess Ronniekins is the big winner. First time ever right Georgie?" Fred said smoothly as he stepped out of the closet, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Yeah I suppose so…" George replied to his twin, his voice suspicious as he looked from Hermione back to Fred. Fred gave an almost imperceptible shake of the head. Now was not the place. George understood. They would talk later…if there was anything to talk about. Fred couldn't be sure, but he was afraid he starting to feel something, and that never led to anything good.

"Oi! What happened back there?" George asked as he shut to door. Fred turned to face his twin as he plopped down on his bed. "We open the closet and it looks like you and Granger ad about to snog!" Fred groaned and pulled a pillow closer to him and rested his head on it.

"George I don't know. You know I hate to lose and she was in my spot and I panicked. Besides, I wasn't going to kiss her. It's Hermione we're talking about!" He said with a huff and George raised an eyebrow. Fred was his twin and he could always tell when he was keeping something to himself.

"Fred…" George started and looked at his twin who had now buried himself in the pillow. Fred grunted. "Do you…like her?" he asked hesitantly. Fred poked one eye up.

"I don't know George! I might? But it's _Granger_! Why on earth would I like Granger?" He let out a huge sigh and rolled over on his back and let the pillow cover his face. George looked at his twin sympathetically but said nothing. He knew Fred would need his space and didn't want to push.

Hermione turned her head toward Ginny. She was leaning up against the wall behind her bed with Ginny seated across from her.

"So he did what now?" Ginny asked rather loudly.

"He came into the closet and well…whispered in my ear. He was so close!" She replied and turned to look out the window. "It was…kind of nice. But it's Fred. He was just playing around like he always does." She looked back at Ginny and smiled. "Besides, it's not like he would actually like her or anything. He had plenty of other choices. He's quite the ladies man you know." She shrugged. "It's nothing Gin, seriously. We better get to bed anyways. World Cup is tomorrow." She finished as Ginny pursed her lips.

"Fine. But this isn't over yet." Ginny replied firmly and the two began getting ready for bed. As Hermione pulled on her pjs, she thought about what had happened. Could Fred like her? Did she _want _Fred to like her? She was so confused as she collapsed into her bed. Morning would come bright and early.


	2. Chapter 2

Fred looked down at Hermione. Her hair was pinned up and she was practically glowing. Her face was smiling in radiance and he couldn't help but grin at her. She chuckled softly at him and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"What is it?" He asked her and she ducked her head down in a shy manner. He leaned down to put his hand on her cheek and she looked back up at him. He cocked his head as if waiting for an answer.

"You just look so…" She trailed off as a pink blush bloomed across her face. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. She bit her lip and finished her thought. "So handsome. And you're all mine." She whispered. He smiled like a fool and leaned in close for a kiss. They were centimeters apart when he felt a sharp jab in his side. He doubled over and Hermione looked at him in concern.

"Fred? Fred!"

He gasped awake. His twin came swimming into view. "George!" He swung at his brother, his vision blurry. George snickered and danced away.

"Sleeping Beauty get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" George asked with fake sympathy. He cuffed Fred on the head and bounded out of the room. "Mum has breakfast ready!" He called out. Fred groaned and closed his eyes once more. Why did he have dream about her? And why had he wished it was real?

He rolled out of bed after a bit and shrugged into his clothes. George peeked into the room once again. "Oi! What's taking so long?" Fred rubbed his eyes and glared at his twin.

"It's bloody early, that's why!" He said with annoyance lacing his voice. He was most certainty not a morning person. George grinned and reached down to take out a bag from under his bed and threw them at his twin.

"Don't forget these." Fred recognized the bag and couldn't help but give a small smile. It was full of their latest project, ton-toffees. He grabbed a handful and stuffed them in his socks, his pants, his shirt, even under his hat. George gave him a thumbs up and the two walked down to meet with the rest of the family. Everyone else was already eating; most of them had half awake looks. Fred winked at Hermione and she promptly ignored him. His face faltered for a second before he regained his chipper attitude. He lowered himself into his usual chair across from Harry where Charlie would have normally sat, and helped himself to eggs and toast. He was halfway done when his dad followed by Mrs. Weasley came down the stairs.

"Are we ready for the Cup?" Mr. Weasley asked in an excited tone and most everyone gave cheers. Ron was still half asleep and his he just grunted. Everyone began grabbing their packs. Fred shoved the rest of his toast in his mouth and threw his bag over his shoulder and saw a ton-toffee drop to the floor. He made contact with his twin as Mrs. Weasley picked up the candy.

"Fred! George! I told you no more of these! _Accio_! _Accio_! _Accio_!" She thundered and pointed her wand at the two of them. The candies flew toward her.

"Come on mum!" George protested and Mrs. Weasley gave him a death glare to end all death glares. George promptly shut his mouth before he could dig himself into a deeper hole than he was already in.

"You're lucky I'm not keeping you home!" She said rather shrilly as Fred and George slunk out of the house to catch up with the rest of the group. The two looked at each other and laughed. They knew that the toffee's Mrs. Weasley had taken were not the only ones left in the house.

The air outside was cool and the sun was just barely poking out from the horizon. "How much farther dad?" Ginny called out.

"Just a bit farther. We have to meet the Diggory's at the portkey!" Mr. Weasley called back. Fred and George groaned.

"We have to meet up with PrissyPants? Is his dad going to tell us all the fabulous stories of WonderBoy and gush at how amazing he was at just the age of two?" Fred said in a posh accent. Mr. Weasley turned around and gave him a stern look. No doubt he though the same about Cedric and Mr. Diggory. As they climbed the hill the Diggory's came into view as they stood next to an old boot. Mr. Weasley greeted them and he and Mr. Diggory began chatting about boring Ministry stuff. Cedric walked toward the rest of the group.

"Hello guys! Brilliant morning eh? I can't wait until the match, I'm sure it's going to be amazing!" Cedric said in a bright voice. Fred and George looked at each other with a roll of their eyes.

"Easy Positive Polly. We don't want you to explode from happiness." Fred said sarcastically and Cedric looked at him confused. The rest of the group snickered.

"What do you -" He started but was cut off by Mr. Weasley.

"Ten seconds people! Finger on the boot!" The group gathered and Fred felt a slightly thrill in his stomach as he ended up next to Hermione. They all grabbed a hold and with a fierce yank, the portkey transported them through space. The colors went whirling by at a dizzying pace until suddenly they righted themselves and the portkey loosened its grip and everyone came crashing to the ground.

Fred felt a body slam on top of him and he let out a deep groan of pain. He looked up to see Hermione on top of him and he couldn't help but grin a tiny bit. "Well, well Granger. A bit forward I must say. And you haven't even taken me on a date yet." She gasped in outrage and rolled off of him and got to her feet quickly.

"Well I was going to ask you if you were okay and that I'm sorry but now I take it back." She sniffed and Fred laughed.

"Easy Hermione, don't get your knickers in a twist. It was just a joke. Now the least you can do after landing on me rather hard I must say, is help me up." She rolled her eyes and reached down with her hand and he took it. Her hand was warm and delicate. He felt yet another little thrill but let go of it quickly. "Erm…thank you." He said a little awkwardly and she nodded a little hesitantly. He turned to look away from her and saw that the others had already gone ahead. "Well looks like the festivities begin." He grinned at her and held out his elbow. "Shall we?" She looked at him in disbelief and ignored him. His face fell but it was no matter, at least for now. The Quidditch World Cup awaited.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione was not raised as a witch so the sights and sounds of the World Cup were strange and new. Everywhere she looked were witches and wizards greeting each other, their clothing robes and cloaks. Sparks erupted out of wants and amateur people were whizzing overhead over the group's heads on brooms. She couldn't help but keep a big smile on her face. She almost forgot about the several fiascos with Fred Weasley…almost.

She wasn't quite sure what to make of him. It was no surprise that Fred was a flirt, almost every girl dreamed about him taking an interest in them. Add to the fact that he was charming, funny, and good-looking, it shocked Hermione that he seemed to be taking an interested in _her_. But was he really? You could never be sure with him, it was always a guessing game and she wasn't about to play.

She walked close to Ginny the whole time as they walked to find their camping spot. She couldn't keep her gaze on any particular thing for very long, it was all so much. She suddenly felt a presence next to her. An arm draped over her shoulder loosely. She looked down at the large hand with her brow furrowed then raised her eyes to place the face. Of course it was Fred yet again. He gave the signature Weasley smile and she felt her heart beat a little faster.

"Can I help you?" She asked

He gave her a knowing smile and leaned down close to her ear as they continued to walk. "You know you look like a fish with your mouth hanging open like that. You may want to close it." He leaned back up as she promptly closed her mouth. Her hand instinctually made a move to whack him in the stomach but he jumped away just in time. He laughed as he jogged lightly to catch up with his twin.

"Argh!" She let out, fuming. "That boy!" Ginny looked at her with her eyebrow raised.

"What did he do now?" She asked with a sigh.

"He's infuriating! I think he's actually going to say something kind for once, and he just tells me to stop gaping at everything! Why does he have to do that?" Hermione asked and looked over at her friend for answers. Ginny just shrugged.

"That's just how he flirts." Ginny said simply.

"No it's not. I see him at school. He can be a real charmer when he wants to be…" She started but trailed off. Ginny couldn't help but smile.

"This is how he flirts when he really likes the girl. Consider yourself lucky." She said as she passed by Hermione to slip into the tent, leaving Hermione speechless. Could Fred really…? No. No, absolutely not. She rolled her eyes and followed Ginny inside. As with the rest of her World Cup experience, the tent did not disappoint. Everywhere was colorful mismatched furniture. She grinned and placed her bag next to Ginny's and soon it was time for the game.

Hermione couldn't get enough of the view. She felt like if she bent over the railing just far enough, she would plummet who knew how many stories down.

"Pretty great isn't it?" Ginny asked with a grin on her face. Hermione could only nod as she suddenly felt a whoosh of air come over her head as the Ireland team flew overhead. The team rode around the stadium as cheers sounded. A big leprechaun made up of magic sparks danced and threw out gold to the crowd. She watched Ron in amusement as he greedily picked up the coins. She didn't have the heart to tell him it was fake gold; she didn't want to spoil his fun.

Next the Bulgarian team came out along with their mascots, the silvery-blonde Veelas. Hermione felt an instant dislike toward them as they began to dance. She looked down the box and saw all the men edge toward the railings, their jaws slack and their eyes entranced. When the Veelas stopped dancing, uproar across the stadium began. As for the group's little box there was only confusion. Ron and Harry were dangerously close to the edge, and they took a few steps back. Hermione looked over at Fred almost subconsciously, and he caught her eye. He had an almost apologetic face on, like he was sorry he had been captured by the Veela's charm. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but was cut off by the magically enhanced voice of Ludo Bagman. He welcomed everyone and the game began. Hermione had never been a huge fan of Quidditch, but this was Quidditch on a whole new level. The players were a blur of movement, and she enjoyed watching Harry and Ron chatter excitedly about it. Even Ginny yelled a few foul things to the Bulgarian team. Yet throughout the whole time, she could periodically feel Fred's eyes on her. The few times she would look up in his direction he would be looking at her. Instead of turning away, he just gave her a slow smile and a wink. It was all too much.


	4. Chapter 4

After the surprise ending of the match with Ireland winning despite the fact that Bulgaria caught the Snitch, the group made it back to their tent. Fred wore a bright smile on his fact. He and George had won their bet against Ludo Bagman, yet he felt like he should be happier than he was. He knew he had his mind on something else, but he didn't want to acknowledge it.

The Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione celebrated with laughed and singing when they hear screams outside the tent. Mr. Weasley went outside and promptly came back inside, white as a sheet. "Everyone go to the forest. Now!" Fred felt his head drop as fear trickled in. His dad never yelled like this. The group minus Mr. Weasley filed out of the tent and into a giant, frightened mob. Fred felt George stick close to him, but the mod was too much and he felt his twin getting lost in the crowd. He tried to stop but couldn't. He was alone.

As he made it to the treeline, he finally saw a familiar face. "Hermione!" He called out and the brunette looked up, relief pouring into her stark white face.

"Oh thank goodness. I got separated from the others." She said as she ran toward him. She gave him a hug, and he froze as she burrowed her fact into his chest. He realized then that she had been crying.

"Hermione what's wrong?" He asked softly, stroking her hair. She looked up at him, fear clouding her eyes and that made his heart drop once more. He never wanted her to look at him that way ever again.

"Did you see what they were doing to those people? That could have easily been my mom and dad." She said in a choked whisper and broke out into a sob. "Fred I'm so scared for them. For me!" Fred wrapped her closer to his chest, his arming encircling her body. He could feel the rage building in his chest toward the Death Eaters. He wanted to kill them all for making Hermione feel this way…then he caught himself. He had never felt like this before about a person that wasn't his family. Was he…was he protective of her now?

He placed his cheek on the top of her head. "I'll protect you." He said in a whisper, almost too softly for her to hear, but he knew that she had when she squeezed him tighter.

"Thank you." She murmured, her voice muffled by his body. He smelled good to her, like wilderness and pine. He kissed the top of her head and let her go. She looked at him, standing over her like a guardian angel and she knew she was safe. He held out his hand to her.

"Let's go find the others okay?" She nodded and took his hand perhaps a little hesitantly and the two began to search the crowd. They soon found Harry and Ron hanging out by a large tree. Harry looked nervous, Ron just looked at his brother and Hermione holding hand but said nothing.

"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked, her face worried.

"I lost my wand." He said simply, his voice monotone.

"Well come on, let's backtrack." She said. Fred said nothing the whole time, yet Hermione didn't let go of his hand. She led the way back to where Harry and Ron had come from. She gravitated toward Fred and he couldn't help but smile slightly. They found themselves in a clearing when a loud voice suddenly rang out.

"MORSMORDE!" A bright flash and the group saw the dreaded Dark Mark light up the sky. Fred heard Hermione gasp and she buried her face in his chest once more. His arms automatically encircled her. He felt her look up behind him.

"Fred look out!" He whipped his head around quickly to see a shadowy figure point his wand at him and Hermione. He instinctually pushed her away right as a flash of red light blasted out of the wand and then…nothing.

Fred felt himself slowly come to. He opened his eyes and winced at the bright light but his vision quickly adjusted. He was back in the tent. He made to sit up but gentle fingers pushed him back down on the bed. He looked up in confusion at the person and saw Hermione's face floating in his line of sight. Her face was worried.

"What happened?" He asked her. She bit her lip.

"You got his with a stunning spell to…to save me." She ducked her head down at the last part. He edged up on the top of his pilled to get a better view of her. He gently touched her arm. "You didn't have to do that for me Fred." She smiled and looked down at him.

"Well someone has the save the damsel right?" He said perhaps a little weakly.

"Thank you, but…I'm not quite sure what you're doing with me. It's confusing." She said softly.

"I…" He trailed off. What was he doing? He didn't even really know. All he knew was that he cared for Hermione. She looked at him and a sad smile played on her face.

"Why don't you figure it out first okay? I'd rather not get hurt." She leaned down to kiss him on the forehead and then stood up to leave his bedside. He grabbed at her arm.

"Hermione…" She turned back toward him and gave him a sympathetic face.

"I don't want to just be another one of your conquests Fred Weasley." He looked up at her and she slowly took her arm out of his grasp and walked out of the room.

"But you won't be…" He whispered as he watched her go. His heart sunk low and he started at the tarp ceiling of the tent. What was wrong with him?


End file.
